Lumos (Nox 1)
by May Seward
Summary: The Mother-of-All-Crossovers: Superwholock and Percy Jackson go to Hogwarts. 2007: Adara Whelan and Gemma Mckenzie are eleven year old witches getting ready for their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. During their first year, the girls meet fellow first years, Percy Jackson and Sam Winchester, discover hidden passageways and battle impossible monsters.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Adara Whelan was waiting for her letter. She had been up since dawn, gazing out of the window as the sun rose, scanning the horizon for the unmistakable shape of an owl winging it's way towards her. By eight o'clock she was pacing, watching her bare feet cross the floor of her bedroom, mind whirring as she tried to assure herself that yes, it _was_ coming. She needn't have worried though, because by the time she was called for breakfast a large barn owl was waiting patiently on the kitchen table, a distinctly official letter clutched in it's beak. Her mother smiled. "Happy Birthday, Sweetie."

Gemma Mckenzie got her Hogwarts letter on a sunny late spring morning on her eleventh birthday. The owl was a handsome screech owl that landed on her bedroom windowsill and tapped on the window until she got up and opened it. She took one glance at the Hogwarts crest and squeaked excitedly and in an attempt to run down the stairs tripped up. She got up and rushed to her parents yelling at the top of her voice, "Dad! Look!" and waving the letter above her head like a trophy.

When September came, Adara walked onto platform 9 ¾ between her parents, younger brother trailing behind. Her mum cried when they said goodbye, a proud smile on her face as she walked away, back into the muggle world. Adara boarded the Hogwarts Express and found an empty compartment very quickly, considering there weren't many people on the train yet. Fifteen minutes later, she had her nose in a book when she heard a thump outside the compartment. A girl Adara's age was face down on the floor, trunk under her ankles as she tried to get up with a sigh. Adara stood, an amused smile on her face and went to help her up.

"You know it would be so much easier if you removed the trunk from your legs," she told the clumsy girl at her feet. "Then you might be able to stand."

"Uhh... Th-thank you," the girl replied. Once standing, the girl seemed to regain her composure. "So... Are you sitting with anyone? There aren't many seats left."

"No I'm not," Adara replied, opening the compartment door and stepping inside again. "You can sit with me, I don't mind." The girl followed and glanced up at the trunk stowed above their heads.

"Thanks Ad...Adera?" She asked, playing with the name.

"It's Adara," she corrected with a friendly eye-roll.

"Oh, sorry. By the way, I'm Gemma Mckenzie, call me Gem" the girl introduced herself. Adara smiled.

"Adara Whelan," she replied, settling down again by the window and picking up her book.

"So... Er... Adara? What are you reading?" Gem asked hesitantly.

"It's called '_Quidditch Through The Ages_'," Adara answered, barely glancing up from the page. "Quidditch is a really interesting game, don't you think?"

"Uh l... Yeah." Gem watched Adara nervously, starting to understand she'd managed to to encounter an oddball. The train started to move and most of the students, especially the younger ones and including Gem, made their way to the windows in the corridor to watch the station and their families disappear in the distance. Adara looked up from the window and watched London turn into countryside. When Gem came back, Adara was reading again and she stood there awkwardly for a moment before sitting down and letting her eyes wander around the compartment. After two minutes of this, the compartment door opened loudly, startling Adara into a standing position. Upon seeing the handsome older boy that was now standing in the doorway, Gem squeaked and hid behind Adara.

"Gem?" Adara whispered. "Gemma, what's wrong? Gemma where is the danger? Gem, do you know him?" Adara could feel her new friend shake her head.

"Oh, sorry ladies," he said with a charming smile. "I was looking for my brother. He's a first year, about yay high. His name's Sam." Adara furrowed her brows.

"He's not here, obviously, but we'll keep an eye out," she told the boy.

"Uh... Thanks. The name's Dean, by the way. Dean Winchester," he flashed them another grin and left. As soon as he was gone, Adara turned around, a puzzled look on her face.

"Gemma are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I... He's a boy a-and he's older than us... And he looks nice..." She replied, the last four words of her sentence barely audible.

"Seriously?" Adara rolled her eyes. _Definitely not going to be a Gryffindor then..._ She stared at Gem incredulously for a second before both girls burst into fits of raucous laughter.

"Uhh..." They were interrupted again by another boy, this time a first year and obviously not quite so intimidating because Gem didn't even flinch.

"Hi," greeted Adara, smiling at the boy.

"Did a guy just come through here..?" The boy started.

"Yeah. He was looking for you," Adara replied, making Gem gape at her. "It's Sam, right?" The boy's brows furrowed.

"How did you..." He began.

"Lucky guess," Adara smiled. "And there's a vague resemblance and you look like you know he's looking for you and you don't want to be found."

"Oh. Uh yeah. Which way did he go?" Sam asked.

"Back the way you just came from so congrats for successfully dodging him," Adara pointed in the direction of the front of the train.

"Thanks..." He looked between the girls awkwardly. Taking pity on him, Adara laughed.

"You can sit with us if you want. We're first years too."

"Thanks," Sam smiled gratefully and sat down beside Gem.

"So," Adara started and it sounded like she was about to start questioning. "Why are you hiding from your brother?"

"I'm not hiding!" Sam protested but Adara and Gem both shot him a look that said he wasn't fooling anyone. "Not really... I just..." He sighed. "He's convinced he had to look out for me all the time and it can get really annoying."

"Fair enough," Gem said. "I can understand that."

"Yeah, me too, but fair enough for Dean, too," Adara said. "I mean, I have a little brother and I feel like I have to look out for him all the time."

"Oh really? When will he be coming to Hogwarts, then?" Sam asked.

"Our third year," Adara replied. "Wow, that's weird."

"So, what houses do you reckon you guys will be in?" Gem asked before yet another awkward silence could settle.

"Ravenclaw," both Adara and Sam replied at the same time, causing them to giggle. "What about you?" Adara asked.

"Uhh... I don't know," Gem replied, regretting asking the question in the first place. "Knowing me, I'll probably be out in Hufflepuff," she grumbled. Adara scoffed.

"You say that like its a bad thing!" She said.

"Isn't it?" Gem asked. "Isn't Hufflepuff where they put all the spares? The ones who don't fit with the other three?"

"No! Not at all. Helga Hufflepuff was the founder who wanted to let in all the most loyal, hard working students. The ones who judge people on their own merit. Nowhere in 'Hogwarts: A History' when they talk about the founding of the houses does it say anything about Hufflepuffs being the spares. You shouldn't worry about being in Hufflepuff, Gem."

"Wow, someone's done their homework," Gem said, but she smiled all the same. "Thanks."

The three of them continued talking about the year ahead for a long while. The lunch trolley came and went and so they pigged out on Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and cauldron cakes (no liquorice wands) and they got to know each other as the countryside became more rugged and marshy as the day wore on.

An hour before the sun began to set, the new trio were interrupted by a commotion outside. The three of them looked at each other in confusion before deciding to go and have a look to see what was going on.

Out in the corridor, a burly fifth year was standing over a small looking third year who was trying to shuffle away from the girl.

The boy was whimpering as he tried to stand but the girl just pushed him down again with a sneer. As they watched, Gem saw a dark haired first year run out of a nearby compartment to come to the boy's defense taking on a protective stance between the two.

"Hey!" he yelled.

The girl with the red bandana in her hair glared at the newcomer and growled at him. "Get outta my way."

"Why don't you leave them alone?" Gem said, helping up the boy on the ground. Adara looked at her in surprise. What had happened to the timid, blushing girl that was hiding behind her not an hour ago?

"Stay out of this girlie," growled the girl.

"Why? Because you're bigger than her?" Adara demanded as she and Sam appeared behind Gem. She gave her new friend a comforting nudge. Bolstered, Gem took a step closer, coming level with the dark haired boy.

"I said, leave. Them. Alone," Gem repeated, crossing her arms in front of her chest and glaring at the fifth year.

"Yeah," the boy supplied. "Turn around and leave." The girl looked ready to commit murder but she was now faced with four students between her and her victim and suddenly the odds weren't in her favour.

"You're dead, Jackson," she growled, shoving the dark haired boy hard enough he fell over the boy on the ground, before stomping off to a compartment full of Slytherins.

"I hate people like that!" Gem muttered, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"Theres no point worrying about it any much, They're not worth it," Adara said "Lets just go."

Gem nodded and turned to walk with Adara and Sam, when they heard a voice call out to them.

"WAIT!" a hand wrapped around Gem's wrist, She turned to face a head of curly ginger hair. It was the boy the fifth year had been picking on. He looked at her sheepishly. "I just wanted to thank you, you know, for standing up for me. You were really brave," he smiled. "I'm Grover Underwood, by the way. What's your name?"

"Gem, Mckenzie," Gem replied.

"Adara Whelan."

"Sam Winchester."

"Percy Jackson," The dark haired boy introduced himself, holding his hand out for Gem to shake. Gem blushed furiously and her eyes widened.

"H-Hi," she stuttered nervously, her hand almost shaking when she took his.

"Thanks for helping out my friend," he told her.

A light red dusted Gem's cheeks, not quite meeting his gaze. Adara sighed. _And she's back. At least she's brave with the important things._ She glanced outside, noticing the setting sun.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we need to change into our robes now" Adara paused, seeing as Gem was quite obviously not listening "Gem? Hello? Remember that thing called school? We need to get changed into our robes. Like now." Adara grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the daze and started to drag her down the corridor "Pleasure to meet you boys," she called over her shoulder.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The train came to a halt half an hour later. Sam had finally met up with his brother after an incident which ended with the lunch trolley's contents on the floor of the corridor two carriages up. Adara and Gem were then left alone together for the remainder of the journey. When they pulled up at Hogsmeade station, the girls got off the train and joined the other first years who were milling in front of a very, very large man.

"Firs' years follow me! This way to the boats! Firs' years, this way!" the man was bellowing from somewhere underneath his immense black and grey beard. Adara and Gem exchanged excited looks before following him down a forest track towards a huge lake.

"The name's Professor Hagrid. I teach Care of Magical Creatures," he was saying as he lead the first years further into the trees, immense lantern swinging from his hand. "You'll be gettin' to Hogwarts by boat tonight and then to the Great Hall where you'll be sorted."

They had stopped at the shore of the lake were a small armada of little boats were beached. Adara eyed them warily but Gem jumped into one immediately, beckoning Adara to join her. When they were settled, the boats took off, gliding smoothly and silently through the water. Both Gem and Adara were watching the castle as they sailed towards it. Adara counted the turrets and was unable to tear her gaze from the golden lights that were streaming from every window. Gem was trying to take in all the sights at once which just made her head swim so she kept looking straight ahead. They were heading straight for a cliff wall covered in vines. She grabbed Adara's sleeve to try and warn her they were about to crash, but when Adara saw Gem's panic, she just grinned widely and a second later, they had passed straight through the cliff wall to a little bay where students were already clambering out of their boats. Gem's mouth fell open at the sight, at the top of what would be a small distance, was a magnificent castle.

"Close your mouth" Adara commented playfully "You'll catch flies"

Soon enough they were gathered with all of the other First Years in front of a pair of large doors. All round them murmurs of excitement and wonder came from their peers, except for one boy who was watching impassively. Adara looked around and noticed Percy standing nearby.

"Oh, look!" Adara exclaimed. "It's Percy! Hi Percy!" Giving Gem a good shove and a not so subtle wink, Adara walked over to the emotionless boy.

"So, Hogwarts, huh?" she said, eliciting no response. "I can't wait to explore all the hidden passageways in the castle. Did you know, there are rumours that there's one passage that leads directly to the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade and that's how the Order of the Phoenix managed to get into the castle the night Voldemort was killed."

"I heard," the boy replied calmly. "But they're not rumours. My brother found that passage during his second year here."

"Wow," Adara replied, still unable to get a read on the boy. "So you have a bit of a head start then, huh?"

"A head start for what?" the boy asked.

"Exploring!" Adara said, rolling her eyes. "Finding out all the secret passages and rooms. There must be hundreds."

"Yes..."

"So... What house do you think you'll be sorted into?" Adara asked, becoming more and more discouraged by the second.

"Oh, I'll be sorted into Ravenclaw. That's easy," the boy replied mildly. Adara nodded.

"Me too, I hope. I can imagine the Ravenclaws have some fascinating conversations! I mean, can you imagine the debates!"

"Yes, I can imagine that."

"I hope the Ravenclaw common room has it's own library!" Adara continued. "The collection of books must be incredible!"

"I'm sure..." the boy said. Adara didn't get to answer because at that moment, the doors opened and a youngish looking man in brown robes stepped out to meet them.

"Hello, I'm Professor Sigma," the wizard introduced, clapping his hands together. "In a minute, you're all going to go into the Great Hall and be sorted into your houses. For those of you who don't know, they are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. While you're here, you're houses will be the closest thing you'll have to family, unless, of course you have siblings because they're actually related to you." He joked , then cleared his throat awkwardly when no one laughed. "Now. When we get in there, I'll call out your names and you'll be sorted. After you

have been put into a house, you will go and sit with them. You'll know who they are, trust me. Right, any questions? No? Fantastic! Let's begin!"

He strode towards the doors and flung them open, Adara quickly found Gem before they followed the Professor into the Great Hall. Most of the people around them, including Gem, were gaping at the sight. The hall was filled with people sitting at four long tables, all of which had paused to look at the newcomers entering the room. Candles that provided the light were floating near the ceiling, joined by a few ghosts.

"Thats beautiful!" Gem gasped, her head tilted towards the enchanted roof. A clear night sky graced the roof, stars sparkling exactly as they would've been doing outside. Adara agreed silently, it certainly was an amazing sight to see.

At the front of the room was a large table, stretched across the width of the hall, with adults sitting behind it.

"Those are obviously the teachers then," Adara commented to the small girl beside her. They all looked normal enough. Most were talking to each other or peering at the First years much like the students they taught.

Gem's eyes fell onto a small three legged stool sitting in front of the staff table. Professor Sigma walked up to it, clutching a very battered looking wizard's hat. It might have been black once, but the fabric had long since faded and it had been patched several times. Professor Sigma placed the hat on top of the stool and stood back, as if to give the hat the spotlight. The hall, which a moment ago had been filled with the sounds of excited chatter, fell silent, all eyes were focussed on the hat. As the assembly watched, a large tear just above the brim opened wide and the hat seemed to come alive and, to the first years' collective astonishment, the hat began to sing:

"_A thousand years ago now,_

_I was mute, deaf and dumb,_

_But I was still able to witness_

_How Hogwarts School had begun,_

_The founders four, _

_The friends they were _

_Wanted to share all they knew_

_With young witches, wizards and warlocks,_

_Young sorcerers just like you_

_But how to choose the best?_

_And who should they admit?_

_They each had different values_

_Which caused quite the disagreement._

_Good old Godric Gryffindor_

_Thought the bravest were the best;_

_Honest Helga Hufflepuff_

_Wanted hard workers above the rest_

_As for resourceful Rowena Ravenclaw,_

_She only wanted the cleverest_

_And sly old Salazar Slytherin_

_Prized those with cunning and noble epithet_

_But how to claim the ones they wanted_

_And what would happen to the houses?_

_How would they sort their pupils_

_When the founders had departed?_

_Then Gryffindor had an idea of import,_

_He removed me from his head, _

_They could just use me to sort_

_After they were all long dead_

_Now that is my humble duty, _

_As the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_To tell of your new family_

_I haven't been wrong yet, _

_So don't worry yourself, (I'm quite safe) _

_And I promise I wont bite,_

_I'm here to tell where you belong_

_For that is my role tonight!"_

The entire hall erupted into applause and cheers coming from the four house tables that took up most of the vast space momentarily overpowered Professor Sigma who was trying to get the student body to quiet down. When the noise finally died away, the professor stepped up behind the stool and took out a long piece of parchment.

"Chase, Annabeth," The professor called. A girl with stormy grey eyes approached the Sorting Hat confidently and sat down. Professor Sigma lowered the old and battered hat onto her head of long blonde hair and waited for barely five seconds before the hat cried out, "RAVENCLAW!" The table on the middle left reacted instantly, cheers and applause sounded in the hall as Annabeth made her way to their table.

"Coulson,Jack," Was next. The sorting took longer for the blue red boy, but after thirty seconds the sorting hat cried, "GRYFFINDOR!" and the blonde haired boy went to sit on the table at the far left of the room.

"Donnelly, Lucas," came after Jack. The nervous looking red-head took a seat on the three-legged stool and after ten seconds, was sorted into "HUFFLEPUFF!"

They came thick and fast after that.

"Fitzgerald, Garth."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Halliday, Brooklyn"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Holmes, Sherlock." The impassive looking boy Adara had been talking to before they had been lead into the Great Hall made his way to the stool. Adara swore the hat hadn't even touched his head before it declared, "RAVENCLAW!" and the boy made his way to the Ravenclaw table.

Soon after, "Jackson, Perseus," was called and Percy moved forward to be sorted, his sea green eyes brimming with excitement yet churning with nervousness. He sat at the stool and let the talking hat decide where he best belonged."GRYFFINDOR!" The Sorting Hat cried and Percy walked swiftly to the Gryffindor table.

"Knightly, Cassandra," was called next and sorted into Hufflepuff. Then it was Gem's turn.

She was visibly shaking when "Mckenzie, Gemma," was announced and she had to walk up to be sorted. Gem sat down on the stool nervously wringing her hands. As the hat was placed on her head she almost squeaked to hear it talk to her. _Now, your an interesting one,_ a disembodied voice said in her head. _Where am I going to put you. . . _It trailed off.

_You're shy I see, but you do stand up for what you believe in hmmm, better be. . ._ Her with was the longest so far, and she was contemplating whether to bolt out the door or not when the hat boomed "GRYFFINDOR!" She was shocked to say the least and scrambled of the stool and ran over to the table taking a seat next to Percy who grinned at her.

"South, Mckayla" Was read next from the parchment, she sat on the seat and waited for a moment for the hat to make a decision "SLYTHERIN!" It yelled.

"Pond, Amy" A girl with red hair stood up and approached the stool, seeminly confident. Except for the fact that her hands we're shaking slightly. She hadn't sat down for very long when the hat cried out "GRYFFINDOR!".

"Whelan, Adara." It took Adara a second longer than it should've for her to figure out it was her turn. She hadn't been nervous about her sorting before then, but as soon as she started for the front she felt like she was going to throw up.

She settled herself gingerly on the stool and closed her eyes as the hat was lowered over her head. '_Hmm...' _the Sorting Hat hummed. '_Fascinating. You have intelligence, so Ravenclaw would be an obvious choice, but...' _the Hat went silent.

"But what?" Adara demanded silently.

'_Your intelligence is not the only thing that you identify with, is it? You are loyal, no? You explained the Hufflepuff values to your friends on the train. Only Hufflepuffs care about the values of the Hufflepuff house, just as only Slytherins value the things that puts you in Slytherin. Loyalty,'_ the Hat continued. '_It's a touchy subject with you. You feel strongly about it. Interesting... No, I think I have decided. You belong in-'_

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The final word was said aloud and the table to the right of where she sat clapped and whistled, beckoning her over. The Sorting Hat was removed but Adara sat frozen in her seat for a second before her eyes found Sam and he motioned for her to get up and head to the Hufflepuff table.

Surprisingly, Adara wasn't disappointed she was sorted into Hufflepuff. Everything the hat had said was true and she had no qualms about taking pride in her willingness to work hard or her fierce loyalty to her friends. So she smiled as she made her way to the Hufflepuff table and sat down next to Lucas Donnelly.

"Winchester, Samuel." Sam stood, looking as concerned as Adara had felt a moment ago when she had been called. He glanced to the Gryffindor table as he sat down and Adara glimpsed his brother Dean give Sam two thumbs up. Sam didn't take as long to sort as Gem or Adara and when the Sorting Hat announced it's verdict, it was exactly as Sam had predicted.

"RAVENCLAW!" Sam looked immensely relieved as he walked to the Ravenclaw table, a wide grin on his face. Not long after, the last student had been sorted and the hat and stool were picked up and removed from the hall, Professor Sigma returning to his seat next to Professor McGonagall, who sat in the middle of the staff table on a throne-like chair. She stood , brushed off her emerald robes and tapped her glass gently with a knife, the resulting chime unnaturally loud in the space.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts," she began, surveying the students who had all fallen silent. "Before we begin the feast, Mr Filch has asked me to remind everyone," she looked over to the Gryffindor table where a particularly boisterous group of second and third years were struggling to stay quiet. "That as usual, the forest on the grounds is out of bounds to all students. On no account are you to go into the forest without a teacher present." She then smiled. "And with that, let the feast begin!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The great hall exploded with noise as the students rushed to grab some of the endless food supplied for them. Gem picked at her food that she'd piled onto her place, savouring the flavour.

"I'm glad I know someone in this house." Gem froze and looked at the boy beside her. Feeling her face heat up she nodded and did her best to hide behind a curtain of her hair

"You're very quiet," Percy commented, Gem almost scoffed. If only he knew what she could be like once someone got to know her. "You can talk to me, ya know."

"Yeah," she stated timidly "I know."

"So, this is some pretty good food," Percy said earning a grin and a small giggle from the girl

"I guess so, are you usually so... " Gem tried to find the right word.

"Awesome?" Percy provided. "Amazing? Usually, yes I am."

Gem sighed and looked over to the Ravenclaw table in an attempt to spot her friend.

Adara was almost inhaling her food. She didn't even notice that a first year girl was trying to get her attention until she actually raised her voice.

"Hey," she said. "I uh... Saw you talking to Sherlock before the sorting."

"Yeah," Adara replied. " He wasn't very talkative, though."

"I know. He can be friendly when he wants to be, though," the girl told Adara.

"You sound like you know him," Adara observed.

"We're neighbors," she answered, tightening the ponytail her long brown hair was in. "I sometimes see him and John around. They're always together. They're inseparable."

"You're telling me that he actually socializes with people other than his reflection?" Adara said.

The girl beside her giggled "You're funny," she commented.

_I wasn't joking, but alright._

The girl beside her gasped slightly, "Oh, I almost forgot. I'm Molly, Molly Hooper," she smiled. Adara introduced herself and the two girls continued chatting until the food disappeared off the plates and McGonagall stood again clearing her throat as the hall fell silent.

"You may all proceed to your respective dormitories, your prefects will lead you. Have a good nights rest, I hope you are all excited to start a new year at Hogwarts."

The Students started to talk to each other excitedly, some getting out of their seats scrambling to say goodnight to their friends in other houses.

"Adara!" called a voice that was now familiar to the Hufflepuff. Turning to face Gem, she was surprised to see Percy beside her.

Adara gave a mock gasp. "So your voice _can _be louder than a squeak!"

"Ha ha very funny," Gem said, blushing slightly. "C'mon we have to walk together on the way to the common rooms."

Adara nodded. "Until we go separate ways, you mean."

Percy nudged Gem slightly and grinned at Adara "Let's go, people are starting to leave" He gestured towards the doors where everybody was attempting to squeeze through.

A girl with copper hair tapped Adara on the shoulder and pushed her forwards gentle "This way, Hurry now or we'll get left behind"

The trio walked towards the great doors, and were joined by Sam who was leaning against a corridor wall. The girl they had talked to before pushed past them, and this time Adara noticed the Prefect badge and Hufflepuff tie. She'd definitely talk to this girl again soon if she was a prefect of her house.

A hand waved in front of Adara's face startling her slightly. "Adara?"

"Pardon me?" Gem laughed.

"Sam was talking to you," she said "But your head was in the clouds."

"Oh! Sorry, Sam. What were you saying?" Adara apologized, looking sincere. Sam laughed and rolled his eyes.

"I was saying that 'cause you're in Hufflepuff and I'm in Ravenclaw that we'll have lots of classes together," he repeated.

"How'd you know?" Adara asked curiously.

"Dean told me that the Gryffindors and Slytherins have lots of classes together. He's been complaining about it for years," Sam explained.

"Oh. Which one's he in?" Adara asked. Gem cleared her throat.

"He's the er... Gryffindor prefect," she said, blushing slightly. Adara laughed.

"Oh, god. That's funny. Well," she said, noticing that the Hufflepuffs were separating from the rest of the student body to descend a flight of stone steps. "I think I have to go, but see you all tomorrow!" she smiled and waved as Gem, Percy and Sam headed up the stairs to their respective common rooms. Adara grinned. This is what she'd been looking forward to most this evening. She was intensely curious to see where she'd be living for the remainder of her school career. Personally, she'd rather been hoping to be in Ravenclaw Tower where she'd at least be above ground, but from what she'd heard, the Hufflepuff common room was notorious for it's cozy, comfortable atmosphere. The Hufflepuffs had all stopped moving and were watching the prefect girl closely. She was standing at the end of the passageway where there was a floor-to-ceiling stack of large mead barrels information to make an impenetrable wall.

"This is the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room and dormitories. Now, watch very closely and hope you remember the barrel and the rhythm because if you get either wrong... lets just say it won't be pleasant for you." One of the students snickered.

"Yeah," he said. "Unless you like getting doused in vinegar. The statement alarmed Adara, although she wasn't sure whether to believe it or not, and she made sure to remember everything the prefect did to open the passage. The girl tapped a barrel in a rhythm and it's lid fell open. The girl smiled and indicated the first years should start climbing through. Adara was one of the last ones and when she crawled through the barrel and landed in the room on the other side, she gasped.

The Hufflepuff common room was everything she'd heard it would be. The room was full of plush leather armchairs and couches upholstered in either yellow or black. There was a large mantle carved with what looked like badgers and above it, a portrait of a kind looking woman hung, waving and beaming at the students. various herbs and hanging plants were suspended from the ceiling, draping down out of their baskets like leafy chandeliers and little lights flitted around them like fireflies with four limbs. There were windows at the very top of the room and if Adara stood on tiptoe, she could just catch a glimpse of the Hogwarts lawn underneath her nose. The prefect girl was talking again, catching Adara's attention.

"The door on the right," she indicated one of two large, perfectly round doors that obviously lead to other rooms. "Is the girls dormitories. The one on the left," she indicated the other door. "Is the boys dormitories. Now I suggest you get some sleep as we will be starting classes tomorrow. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, dears," the portrait of the kind woman Adara thought was probably Helga Hufflepuff herself echoed as the students filed through.

When Adara walked through the door to the girl's dormitories, she was met with seven identical doors facing her in a semicircle. Each was labelled, one for each year level and she went through the one to her far right, which read, 'First Years'. Inside, there were two rows of very comfortable looking four-poster beds, each dressed with thick patchwork quilts, curtained with alternating yellow and black drapes and dark timber night stands. Adara smiled and flopped onto the one furthest from the door that was still free and stared at the yellow canopy.

Yes, she decided as she closed her eyes, savouring the feel of the mattress under her tired body. I could get used to this.

Gem winced as the stairs moved yet again, gripping onto the railing tightly. Don't fall over, you'll make a complete fool of yourself.

Adara had left them a while ago, leaving Gem, Percy and Sam to continue walking with the other students. After a while they had came to some staircases, that happened to change every few seconds. Sam had gone one way, so then it was only Gem and Percy that remained together.

The dark haired boy beside her chuckled slightly and held her arm. "You okay there?" Gem spared him a glance and nodded.

"Super," she said, then jolted slightly as the staircase stopped. "Oh, thank gods."

People began to halt almost as soon as they started

"Alright. All of you listen up, I need you to pay attention." Deans called to the 1st year Gryffindors. "To get into our common room you have to say a password to this lovely lady."

Gem stood on the tips of her toes to see over the small crowd. Dean was standing next a painting of a lady in a pink dress who resembled a opera singer.

"Flattery gets you nowhere, Mr. Winchester, " she replied. "Password?"

"Gobbledygook" Dean replied smoothly, Gem watched in wonder as the painting swung open to reveal the Gryffindor common room. "Don't forget that password, I don't want to have to come rescue stranded Gryffindors." Dean warned.

Gem felt a breath on her neck and heard a voice joke, "I hope you got that, 'cause I've forgotten it."

"Percy," she whispered the the boy standing behind her as they shuffled closer to the common room. "I hope you're taking this seriously."

"Of course I am," he grinned, sea-green eyes sparkling with mischief. "What makes you think i'm not?"

Gem was about to retort when they entered the common room. She immediately felt at peace with the warm and homely atmosphere the crackling fire and cozy couches supplied. Wide windows graced the walls giving a clear view of the night sky.

"Boys to the left, Girls to the right" Dean thought for a moment "And bewarned there's a charm on the girls dormitories. Any boys who try and sneak up there… won't be able to. I learnt that the hard way," he mumbled near the end

"What about the Boy's dorms?" Percy asked

"Well apparently females are more trustworthy," Dean muttered "They can enter if they want, but don't go getting any ideas girls."

"Hear that, Gem? Don't get any ideas," Percy teased, Gem laughed and refrained from rolling her eyes. Instead she replied with a "Goodnight Percy," and followed the girls to the room labelled First years. The dormitories were decked in red curtains and mahogany four poster beds. The windows opened to a vast view of the Hogwarts grounds from their vantage point near the top of the Gryffindor Tower. Gem looked around. One or two beds were taken so she rushed to claim one by a window before her other dorm mates arrived. Quickly, she changed into her pyjamas which she pulled from her trunk that had somehow found it's way to her dormitory and climbed into bed. With a smile on her face, she closed her eyes and thought about how much she was looking forward to tomorrow. She fell asleep before the last girl had entered the room and shut the door behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 5

The rest of the week flew by for the girls in an excited daze interrupted by new spells, charms, potions and friends. During Potions, Adara, Sam and Molly had been joined by Sherlock Holmes, the boy Adara had tried to talk to before the sorting ceremony, and Annabeth Chase, who turned out to be an acquaintance of Percy's and had taken to hanging out with the group during their hours off. It was almost comical, but with Adara, Annabeth and Sherlock sitting in the same row, most of the answers for Potions and History of Magic, the other subject that Hufflepuffs shared with the Ravenclaws, seemed to come from the same place.

"Does anyone know where you would find a Bezoar?" Professor Oswald asked just before one of these occasions fifth period on friday. Almost in sync, three hands shot into the air: Annabeth on the end, beside Sam, Adara, who was sitting in between Sam and Molly, and Sherlock, who was sitting on the end on Molly's other side.

"Are you going to answer together or do I have to pick one?" Professor Oswald asked, stifling a chuckle when she had made sure that no other student was going to offer an answer. "Very well, then. Holmes, you tell me," she sighed.

"You would find a bezoar in the stomach of a goat, as it is a small stone that is created there. It is useful because it can be used as a cure for most poisons."

"Excellent answer. Five points to Ravenclaw," Professor Oswald beamed. "Now, as Mr. Holmes just told us, a bezoar is a stone created inside the stomach of a goat and has the ability to cure many common poisons..."

"How the hell are you not in Ravenclaw?" Sam whispered, leaning slightly closer to Adara so they could have a conversation without being overheard. "Seriously, not many Hufflepuffs can keep up with us." Adara shrugged.

"I thought I was going to be in Ravenclaw," she replied. "You heard me on the train. I guess the sorting hat didn't think it was the right place for me. I don't know why, Molly's my only Hufflepuff friend. The rest are in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw." Sam grinned.

"We only need a Slytherin and our group will have representatives from all the houses," he joked. Adara laughed.

"Yeah, that would be a first."

Gem and Percy were walking back from another boring History of Magic lesson and heading towards the Great Hall when Gem tripped in a deserted hallway. She went flying, (Percy was still too asleep to react quick enough) and she was certain she was going to collide head first with the tapestry covered stone wall when she landed, pushing through the tapestry and being met with empty space.

"Gem! Oh, Gods, are you okay?" Percy was by her side as soon as she landed, eyes looking concerned for his friend.

"I... Ye-yeah," Gem replied, a little shakily. "I think I found something!" Percy helped her up and they both looked at each other, before Percy started laughing.

"You should've seen your face!" he said between giggles. "You went flying. I swear you were airborne!" Obviously, now he knew Gem wasn't seriously injured, he didn't see the point of containing his mirth. Gem rolled her eyes and checked they were still alone before grabbing his hand.

"Shut up. Look," she said quietly but sternly. Percy nodded, wiping his eyes and allowing her to show him what she'd found. Gem stepped backwards so she was flush against the wall and gently moved the corner of the tapestry with one hand. With a grin at Percy who was looking just a little astonished, she slipped behind it, stepping into a passageway.

It was a roughly cut stone passage that didn't look the same vintage as the rest of the castle, mind you, that didn't say much, considering after the Battle of Hogwarts, only nine years previously, large portions of the castle had to be repaired. Still, this looked new. The corridor lead away from them, disappearing into shadows too dark to see through.

"I wonder where it goes?" Percy said from directly behind Gem, making the girl jump a foot in the air. She glared at him, the face she pulled more menacing than it would have been usually because of the close proximity and the low light throwing shadows over her face.

"Why don't we see?" Gem questioned, a look that promised mischief crossing her face, brown eyes glittering in the dark.

"Well, I would, but..." Percy began.

"But you're chicken?" Gem countered, stepping further into the passage.

"No," Percy replied, actually affronted. "But we can't because we can't see a thing down there so how are we going to know what we find?" Gem's face fell, but then brightened again immediately.

"Then lets show Adara!" she said. "We'll tell her at dinner. Come on!" She dragged Percy out and back into the brightly lit main corridor, the both of them squinting at the sudden change in light level.

When they got to the Great Hall (first time without getting lost!) Gem spotted Adara already sitting at the Hufflepuff table with Molly.

"Adara! Come here!" Gem called, waving her over. Adara glared at her for suggesting she leave in the middle of dinner and finished off her plate before grabbing her bag and heading over to her friend.

"What is it?" Adara demanded, then seeing both of their expressions, she gave a sly smile. "What have you found?" she said, slower this time, and sounding infinitely more interested.

Gem beckoned her over to a corner of the hall where they were less likely to be overheard.

"Secret passage," she said in a loud whisper. "We would've tried to follow it, but it was too dark. No torches, no lights, nothing."

"Awesome!" Adara cheered. "When are we going down?"

"I dunno. After dinner?" Gem asked, rubbing her growling stomach. Adara nodded.

"Great, I'll get ready, then meet you at the top of the stairs by the basement after you've changed," she said quickly, already looking like she wanted to get started. Gem and Percy nodded eagerly.

"Okay. See you in half an hour," Gem told her, starting to head for the Gryffindor table.

Adara headed towards the Hufflepuff common room.

"Hey, Adara," said a voice from behind her: Sam must have passed her on the way to dinner.

"Oh, hey Sam!" she said, then grinned. "C'mere," she beckoned him over. When she didn't think they'd be heard, she said, "Gem and Percy found a secret passage. They didn't give me many details but we're meeting here in half an hour if you wanna check it out." Sam grinned.

"Half an hour?" he asked. Adara nodded. "Oh, I'll definitely be here. See ya!" he then left, so Adara descended the stairs, tapped the right barrel and entered the common room. Most of the students were still in the Great Hall, so she hurriedly got changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and grabbed her charms text book.

Half an hour later, Adara ascended the stairs again to see Sam and Percy waiting for her. She grinned at the boys and shifted her school bag higher on her shoulder. She looked for the world like she was just going to the library.

"So, shall we wait for Gem, or just go without her?" Adara joked, earning a chuckle from Percy. They didn't have to wait long before a tiny squeak came from the stairs to Adara's left and Gem nearly tripped down the stairs again in her hurry to join the rest of their group.

"Hey, guys," she said nonchalantly trying to recover from the near fall. Adara and Percy both sighed and rolled their eyes in identical movements. Sam just laughed.

"Lead the way, Columbus," Adara addressed Gem, earning a confused expression from the witch. "Never mind," she said, shaking her head. "Onwards!" Gem nodded and lead the way.

The three of them followed her up two flights of stairs before they stopped in a deserted, but innocuous looking corridor. A red tapestry, embroidered with gold hung on one wall, but other than that, the place looked rather unadorned.

"Over here," Gem said to the group, walking towards it.

"Behind the tapestry?" Adara asked, sounding just slightly disappointed. "I was hoping for something more original."

"Hey, you don't like it, you can go back to your common room," Gem retorted playfully.

"Fat chance," Adara scoffed. "Besides, without me, how are you going to see where you're going?"

"What?" asked Sam sarcastically. "Are you just going to illuminate whatever you find with your enlightened mind?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I came prepared," Adara said. She indicated for Gem expose the opening of the secret passage and followed her inside. Once all four of them were in there and the tapestry was in place again, she unzipped her bag and pulled out what looked like a little ball of light. When their eyes adjusted to the unusual lighting, they could see that clearly, Adara was holding a little blue flame in a small glass jar.

"Brilliant," Gem exclaimed, only to be shushed by the other three. She muttered a small apology then looked to Adara, who grinned, looking almost feral in the flickering light cast by the flame.

"So," she said, looking from Percy to Gem and then to Sam. "Are we going, or what?"


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the week flew by for the girls in an excited daze interrupted by new spells, charms, potions and friends. During Potions, Adara, Sam and Molly had been joined by Sherlock Holmes, the boy Adara had tried to talk to before the sorting ceremony, and Annabeth Chase, who turned out to be an acquaintance of Percy's and had taken to hanging out with the group during their hours off. It was almost comical, but with Adara, Annabeth and Sherlock sitting in the same row, most of the answers for Potions and History of Magic, the other subject that Hufflepuffs shared with the Ravenclaws, seemed to come from the same place.

"Does anyone know where you would find a Bezoar?" Professor Oswald asked just before one of these occasions fifth period on friday. Almost in sync, three hands shot into the air: Annabeth on the end, beside Sam, Adara, who was sitting in between Sam and Molly, and Sherlock, who was sitting on the end on Molly's other side.

"Are you going to answer together or do I have to pick one?" Professor Oswald asked, stifling a chuckle when she had made sure that no other student was going to offer an answer. "Very well, then. Holmes, you tell me," she sighed.

"You would find a bezoar in the stomach of a goat, as it is a small stone that is created there. It is useful because it can be used as a cure for most poisons."

"Excellent answer. Five points to Ravenclaw," Professor Oswald beamed. "Now, as Mr. Holmes just told us, a bezoar is a stone created inside the stomach of a goat and has the ability to cure many common poisons..."

"How the hell are you not in Ravenclaw?" Sam whispered, leaning slightly closer to Adara so they could have a conversation without being overheard. "Seriously, not many Hufflepuffs can keep up with us." Adara shrugged.

"I thought I was going to be in Ravenclaw," she replied. "You heard me on the train. I guess the sorting hat didn't think it was the right place for me. I don't know why, Molly's my only Hufflepuff friend. The rest are in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw." Sam grinned.

"We only need a Slytherin and our group will have representatives from all the houses," he joked. Adara laughed.

"Yeah, that would be a first."

Gem and Percy were walking back from another boring History of Magic lesson and heading towards the Great Hall when Gem tripped in a deserted hallway. She went flying, (Percy was still too asleep to react quick enough) and she was certain she was going to collide head first with the tapestry covered stone wall when she landed, pushing through the tapestry and being met with empty space.

"Gem! Oh, Gods, are you okay?" Percy was by her side as soon as she landed, eyes looking concerned for his friend.

"I... Ye-yeah," Gem replied, a little shakily. "I think I found something!" Percy helped her up and they both looked at each other, before Percy started laughing.

"You should've seen your face!" he said between giggles. "You went flying. I swear you were airborne!" Obviously, now he knew Gem wasn't seriously injured, he didn't see the point of containing his mirth. Gem rolled her eyes and checked they were still alone before grabbing his hand.

"Shut up. Look," she said quietly but sternly. Percy nodded, wiping his eyes and allowing her to show him what she'd found. Gem stepped backwards so she was flush against the wall and gently moved the corner of the tapestry with one hand. With a grin at Percy who was looking just a little astonished, she slipped behind it, stepping into a passageway.

It was a roughly cut stone passage that didn't look the same vintage as the rest of the castle, mind you, that didn't say much, considering after the Battle of Hogwarts, only nine years previously, large portions of the castle had to be repaired. Still, this looked new. The corridor lead away from them, disappearing into shadows too dark to see through.

"I wonder where it goes?" Percy said from directly behind Gem, making the girl jump a foot in the air. She glared at him, the face she pulled more menacing than it would have been usually because of the close proximity and the low light throwing shadows over her face.

"Why don't we see?" Gem questioned, a look that promised mischief crossing her face, brown eyes glittering in the dark.

"Well, I would, but..." Percy began.

"But you're chicken?" Gem countered, stepping further into the passage.

"No," Percy replied, actually affronted. "But we can't because we can't see a thing down there so how are we going to know what we find?" Gem's face fell, but then brightened again immediately.

"Then lets show Adara!" she said. "We'll tell her at dinner. Come on!" She dragged Percy out and back into the brightly lit main corridor, the both of them squinting at the sudden change in light level.

When they got to the Great Hall (first time without getting lost!) Gem spotted Adara already sitting at the Hufflepuff table with Molly.

"Adara! Come here!" Gem called, waving her over. Adara glared at her for suggesting she leave in the middle of dinner and finished off her plate before grabbing her bag and heading over to her friend.

"What is it?" Adara demanded, then seeing both of their expressions, she gave a sly smile. "What have you found?" she said, slower this time, and sounding infinitely more interested.

Gem beckoned her over to a corner of the hall where they were less likely to be overheard.

"Secret passage," she said in a loud whisper. "We would've tried to follow it, but it was too dark. No torches, no lights, nothing."

"Awesome!" Adara cheered. "When are we going down?"

"I dunno. After dinner?" Gem asked, rubbing her growling stomach. Adara nodded.

"Great, I'll get ready, then meet you at the top of the stairs by the basement after you've changed," she said quickly, already looking like she wanted to get started. Gem and Percy nodded eagerly.

"Okay. See you in half an hour," Gem told her, starting to head for the Gryffindor table.

Adara headed towards the Hufflepuff common room.

"Hey, Adara," said a voice from behind her: Sam must have passed her on the way to dinner.

"Oh, hey Sam!" she said, then grinned. "C'mere," she beckoned him over. When she didn't think they'd be heard, she said, "Gem and Percy found a secret passage. They didn't give me many details but we're meeting here in half an hour if you wanna check it out." Sam grinned.

"Half an hour?" he asked. Adara nodded. "Oh, I'll definitely be here. See ya!" he then left, so Adara descended the stairs, tapped the right barrel and entered the common room. Most of the students were still in the Great Hall, so she hurriedly got changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and grabbed her charms text book.

Half an hour later, Adara ascended the stairs again to see Sam and Percy waiting for her. She grinned at the boys and shifted her school bag higher on her shoulder. She looked for the world like she was just going to the library.

"So, shall we wait for Gem, or just go without her?" Adara joked, earning a chuckle from Percy. They didn't have to wait long before a tiny squeak came from the stairs to Adara's left and Gem nearly tripped down the stairs again in her hurry to join the rest of their group.

"Hey, guys," she said nonchalantly trying to recover from the near fall. Adara and Percy both sighed and rolled their eyes in identical movements. Sam just laughed.

"Lead the way, Columbus," Adara addressed Gem, earning a confused expression from the witch. "Never mind," she said, shaking her head. "Onwards!" Gem nodded and lead the way.

The three of them followed her up two flights of stairs before they stopped in a deserted, but innocuous looking corridor. A red tapestry, embroidered with gold hung on one wall, but other than that, the place looked rather unadorned.

"Over here," Gem said to the group, walking towards it.

"Behind the tapestry?" Adara asked, sounding just slightly disappointed. "I was hoping for something more original."

"Hey, you don't like it, you can go back to your common room," Gem retorted playfully.

"Fat chance," Adara scoffed. "Besides, without me, how are you going to see where you're going?"

"What?" asked Sam sarcastically. "Are you just going to illuminate whatever you find with your enlightened mind?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I came prepared," Adara said. She indicated for Gem expose the opening of the secret passage and followed her inside. Once all four of them were in there and the tapestry was in place again, she unzipped her bag and pulled out what looked like a little ball of light. When their eyes adjusted to the unusual lighting, they could see that clearly, Adara was holding a little blue flame in a small glass jar.

"Brilliant," Gem exclaimed, only to be shushed by the other three. She muttered a small apology then looked to Adara, who grinned, looking almost feral in the flickering light cast by the flame.

"So," she said, looking from Percy to Gem and then to Sam. "Are we going, or what?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The blue flame worked a treat, illuminating the way down the corridor, casting slightly sinister shadows on the walls and the faces of the adventurers. Percy was the current one holding the jar of flame and was therefore leading the expedition.

Adara and Sam were right behind him, Eager to discover what was on the other side of the long, dark corridor.

Gem, who was trailing a little further behind, was wringing her hands nervously "Percy, Can you see anything?" Gem asked quietly. As childish as it was, she was a little afraid of the dark, to be more specific: What was hiding in the dark.

"Nope" He replied "How long is this thing anyway"

"Long enough to make a Gryffindor scared of the dark" Sam joked.

"What?" Gem crossed her arms, even if nobody could see it. "I am not scared of the dark"

"Sure you aren't," Adara said "Oh, look spiders!"

Gem squeaked and jumped onto the nearest thing around, which happened to be Sam's back. "What? Where?" Gem groaned in realisation and got off Sam's back. "Don't do that Adara, so not funny."

"I beg to differ" Adara laughed, then stopped suddenly. "Please tell me someone's playing a sick joke and has their hand crawling up my leg."

"Don't move," Sam warned. Adara ignored him and shook her leg and was about to squish it when scuttling echoed off the stone walls. Gem stiffened and turned around, even in the dark she could see the multiple eight-legged bodies heading towards their small group.

"Go! Go! Go!" Percy pushed the others to run in front of him, the sea-eyed boy literally having to tug and pull Gem to get her to move, she was so stiff with fear. When she started moving, however, she took off sprinting, pushing past Percy and Sam to get away. Now Adara was the one being left behind.

"Come on!" Sam urged, faltering slightly when he saw there was a rapidly growing gap between Adara and the rest of the group. She was still going, though and gaining speed and soon almost caught up with Sam who reached out his hand to pull her faster and together, they caught up to Gem and Percy.

Suddenly, the tunnel, because that was what the passage had turned into, was starting to become lighter and before they realised what was happening, Gem, Percy, Adara and Sam had all tumbled out of the tunnel and fallen face first onto rotting wooden floorboards.

"Out," Adara said breathlessly and shoved Sam off of her, scrambling to her feet and facing the entrance to the tunnel.

"Fire!" yelled Sam.

"Where?" cried Gem, in a panic now.

"In Percy's hand!" Sam pointed to Percy.

"Throw it!" Adara shouted at the Gryffindor, realising what Sam was trying to get across. Percy did as he was ordered and threw the jar

blue fire at the entrance to the tunnel where the weird creepy crawlies were beginning to emerge from. The jar exploded and the fire caught on singed the first few of the bugs and then finally catching on the rotting wood of wherever they were. Gem could see the spiders still coming at them, but unable to get passed the flames without being incinerated. After a minute, they stopped coming altogether.

"Put it out! Now!" Adara ordered, rushing forward and attempting to stamp out the flames. The others started doing the same and within thirty seconds they had gotten rid of the fire. When that happened, the four of them turned to look at each other, breathing heavily.

"Well... that was... Interesting?" Adara said finally. Gem let out a derisive snort and glared at her.

"Funny, 'interesting' is not the sorta word I'd use," she huffed. Adara stepped back from the girl, hands in the air as if in surrender.

"What are you glaring at me for? This was your idea. You definitely take credit for this one," she said defensively. Gem was about to retort something, but Sam interrupted.

"Hey, Adara. What else did you have in that bag of yours?" he asked. Adara looked at him and her brows furrowed.

"Uh... My charms book, a quill and some parchment. I figured if I got stopped, I'd be able to say I was heading to the library."

"Give me the book," he said and Adara reached into her bag, pulling the book from its depths and handing it to Sam who immediately began rifling through it.

"Where on Earth are we?" Percy asked then. Adara and Gem looked around. They seemed to be in some sort of tiny cabin, one room with a pile of branches in one corner, a small square table in another and a very rotten rickety single bed taking up the other side. A door with a hole in it that looked suspiciously like it was made by an axe was directly behind Sam and looked to be the only way out other than the tunnel they had entered from. Adara stepped forward to look out of one broken window.

"Hang on," she said, her eyes scanning the area. "I think I know where we are!" Outside, there was only dense forest on all sides. Very faint trails that looked too wide to be animal tracks, but faint enough they mustn't be used often at all, were visible here and there and she could see sticks and trees rustling every now and then. Sam then looked out of the window, stiffened and backed away again.

"Uh... yep. Me too," he confirmed, backing away from the window, a sad look in his hazel eyes. Adara frowned but didn't question it as he had his nose in her charms book again, trying to find something.

"We're in the forbidden forest," she told the two Gryffindors in the room. Gem gasped. "It makes sense. The forbidden forest is the only forestry we could have gotten to in the amount of time we were travelling - we began in the middle of the castle so we must be still on the grounds only..." she trailed off, know none of them were going to like the next bit. "Only that means that we have to go back through the tunnel."

"Oh, no. I'm not going back in there," Gem informed everyone immediately.

"You have to, Gem," Adara sighed. "We can't go through the forest, there are far more dangerous things than spiders in there and if we walk into the castle through the front doors, we'll be caught for sure." She glanced at what she could see of the sky through the grimy window and dense foliage. It couldn't be later than seven thirty. "If we hurry through the tunnel, we could get back to the castle before curfew and no one would be any wiser." Gem's gaze fell to the ground.

"You're right," she conceded. "But now we don't have the fire to light our way back."

"I don't think so," Sam said, from behind Adara, looking up from the book with a triumphant expression. He walked over to the tunnel entrance, bending down to scrutinise the damage caused by their version of bug repellant, saying, "I found the spell, just wait a minute, I'll see if I can make it work." He cleared his throat. "Reparo," he said, pointing his wand firmly at a piece of broken glass. "Oh! Watch out!" he warned as shards flew towards the piece he had spelled and the jar that the flame had been contained in was put back together - good as new.

"Wow," said Gem and Percy in unison.

"Well done, Sam," Adara said with a grin. Sam stepped back, a little smile playing on his lips as Adara took the jar in her hand and re-conjured the the little flame. She straightened and looked between her three friends. "So," she said, sounding more cheerful about the thought than she felt. "Anyone up for round two?"

The return journey was just as pleasant as the first, although this time, the foursome met no spiders or anything else that had too many legs or would otherwise be deemed "creepy". They emerged from the tapestry one at a time, each looking thoroughly relieved the "adventure", as Adara called it, was over.

"Well, that was fun," Percy said, voice dripping with sarcasm, once they were all out and safely in the well lit third floor corridor. Gem shook her head.

"No it wasn't," she insisted. Adara couldn't help sighing.

"That was sarcasm, Gem," she told her friend. Gem pulled an angry face.

"I know that and I still don't think it was fun!"

"Alright, alright," Adara said. "Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm heading back to my common room before we run into somebody." The others nodded and suddenly looked more alert.

"Definitely," Sam agreed. "Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow, then. Bye!" And with that, he left, heading for Ravenclaw tower. Adara left soon after, heading for the basement and Gem and Percy began walking towards Gryffindor tower.

"Hey," Percy said, nudging Gem in the side. "We're all okay, right. It was just a bunch of spiders. We know we can handle them now, can't we?" Gem nodded mutely. Percy smiled then. "Did you see Adara's face, though? When she realised she had a spider on her leg?" Gem's lips quirked. "I don't think I've ever seen her look so afraid. To be honest, that was kinda funny." Gem nodded, a tiny smile on her face.

"Yeah, it was actually. I've never seen anyone's eyes go that wide, even in the dark!" Percy laughed at that.

"And we will never let her forget it," he told her sternly.

"Never," Gem agreed as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Gobbeldygook," Percy said matter-of-factly. The Fat Lady gave them a stern look before swinging open for them.

"I wonder what Sam saw, though," Gem mused, beginning to feel a little better about the whole experience. "He went all stiff, like he saw something that Adara couldn't. All I could see was trees."

"Me too," Percy nodded. "Maybe we'll ask him." Then, Gem and Percy parted ways, each heading for a different dormitory. When Gem flopped onto her bed, her dorm mate Victoire was sitting on her bed, absently pushing a brush through her hair.

"Hello, Gem. Where have you been?" she asked. Gem sighed.

"Nowhere," she said, flopping onto her bed. Victoire had a knowing smile on her face, but she let the subject drop.

"Sure, okay," the blonde said. "You know, you are even faster than my uncles, when it comes to getting into trouble." Gem groaned and rolled over. What she really needed now, was an early night.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The four friends didn't go on anymore "adventures" after that one. It had been about four months since they found the passage-way, nothing spectacular had happened since then. Gem figured out that she had a knack for Charms, Adara found that she was skilled in pretty much everything else.

Gem blinked her eyes sleepily, the night before, Adara had dragged her down to the library to study for the upcoming test's. Yawning she looked out the wide window beside her bed to find a red sky. This was the first one she'd seen this year.

"Mum always said that when there was a red sky, it meant that blood was spilt in the night," came Amy's sleepy voice.

"Really?"

"Mmmhmmm, apparently every dawn was bloodstained during the weeks leading up to the Battle of Hogwarts."

"Your mum was in the Battle of Hogwarts?" Gem asked the red headed girl

"Not directly, no. But everyone knew when it happened. Victory Day. When Harry Potter killed The Dark Lord."

"Oh, yeah," Gem said absently.

Amy and Gem sat silently for a moment."Oh, well. It's nearly Christmas!" Amy grinned. "What are you going to do this year?" Gem shrugged, but grinned at the thought.

"Dunno, hang out with the family I guess," she said, looking out the window at the snow clouds that were rolling in and dreading starting her day with Herbology in the greenhouses.

When they made it down to the Great Hall, the place was louder than usual. Adara hurried up to Gem when she spotted the Gryffindor enter the hall. There was a look of fear in her eyes that was rarely seen.

"Gem! Have you heard?" Adara asked, as soon as she was within earshot.

"What's happened?" Gem asked.

"A Slytherin first year has gone missing," Adara explained.

"What? Are you sure?" Gem demanded. Adara nodded solemnly.

"Yeah. Tash Riley. She's in my Charms and Herbology classes. You know? The one with the glasses?"

"Oh yeah," Gem looked at her feet. "She's in my Potions and History of Magic class... How long has she been missing?"

"Since dinner last night," Adara answered. "We should find her though. She can't have vanished."

"Who's vanished?" Percy asked, appearing behind Gem.

"Tash Riley. Slytherin," Gem told him.

"Oh wow. At least it's not one of us, right?"

"Percy!" Adara cried. "How could you say that?"

"No!" he protested. "That's not what I meant. I mean, sure, she's a Slytherin, but I was just saying... We should be glad that it's not you or Sam or Gem. We've still got each other so... No matter what we find out about Riley, lets try not to let it get us down, okay?" he shrugged and gave a small smile. "She'll turn up safe and sound. Promise." Adara and Gem both still looked apprehensive, but nodded.

At their respective house tables, the three of them ate in relative silence, Gem and Percy then heading towards the greenhouses with a wave in Adara's direction, meeting up with Sam and Annabeth on the way. Adara then had to go sit through Charms class with Molly fidgeting beside her. It was true, nothing like the disappearance of a student had happened since the war and it had everyone set on edge. It was when Gem, Percy and Adara were all heading to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom that they found it.

They were walking down the third floor corridor, trying to avoid the inevitable post-break rush when Adara stopped walking suddenly, heart in her throat.

"Oh, no, no, no..." she groaned. Gem and Percy stopped dead in their tracks.

"What? What is it? Adara?" Gem demanded, her voice unnaturally high. Adara wasn't listening. Her eyes were trained on the red and gold tapestry that hid the secret tunnel they'd found in their first week. More specifically, in the upturned corner at the bottom that made it look like it had been recently moved.

Adara closed her eyes firmly and was muttering something that sounded like, "Please, please, please," under her breath. Whatever it was she was doing, it didn't sound like the Hufflepuff wanted to. Checking that Gem and Percy were the only ones in the corridor and they weren't going to be walked in on, Adara took a deep breath and pulled back the corner of the tapestry, lighting the tip of her wand with a muttered, "Lumos," the spell they'd learned the week before. What little Gem could see of her friend's face went ghostly pale.

"Adara," Gem said quietly. "What is it?"

Adara stepped back from behind the tapestry and addressed the both of them shakily.

"Blood," she said, her voice shaking. "And lots of it."

Funnily enough, the three of them didn't make it to their lesson that day. After finding the blood, Adara was reluctant to go back into the passage, but insisted that they make sure they know what exactly they'd found before they go running to McGonagall. So, putting on a steely resolve, she stepped back behind the tapestry and this time, Gem and Percy followed.

Under the wand light, the red leaped out at them, in a trail that lead further down the tunnel and out of sight. Adara raised her wand so it illuminated more of the tunnel and took a deliberate step forwards, watching her feet so she wouldn't step in any of the gorey liquid. The blood trail soon became smudged, like something had been dragged through it and it made Gem's stomach turn. When Adara estimated them to be about halfway down the tunnel, she spotted a large black mound blocking the way, and stopped.

"Found her," she whispered, sounding like she was about to throw up. Not one to falter at the last hurdle, Adara approached the body and nudged her so the face turned to come into their view. It was Tash Riley, all right.

She had a large gash on her cheek that looked like she had been slashed at with a knife or claw of some sort. There two puncture wounds that had gone slightly green at the edges and her black robes were a bloody mess.

"Okay," Adara said, when seeing this. "We leave. Now." She spun around and herded Gem and Percy back down the tunnel. When they reached the tapestry again, Percy stepped out first, ensuring the coast was clear before Gem followed with Adara now bringing up the rear. Before they replaced the tapestry, Adara kicked a few droplets of blood onto the public side of the tapestry.

"What are you doing that for?" Gem demanded.

"How else are you going to explain how we found her? Or the tunnel?" Adara snapped back. "Or I suppose you want to tell Professor McGonagall how we had our little adventure that ended with us deep in the forbidden forest?" Gem looked at her feet.

"No, you're right."

"Then lets go!"

They all but ran to McGonagall's office where they were met with a stone gargoyle.

"Password?" It asked when they looked at it expectantly.

"Look, um, we don't know the password, but we need to see Professor McGonagall. It's very important!" Adara yelled at the gargoyle.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, we don't but this is important!" Gem protested.

"The Headmistress is indisposed. Please make an appointment or see the deputy headmaster."

"Thanks a lot," Adara grumbled and turned around, running down another corridor and up several flights of stairs until they reached Professor Sigma's office. They could hear some sort of music playing very quietly, but no talking, so Adara rapped on the door.

"Come in," Sigma called from the other side. Gem wasted no time in pushing the door open and Adara started talking before they had even entered the room properly.

"Professor Sigma, you need to come right away! We tried Professor McGonagall's office but the statue wouldn't let us in and-"

"Woah, woah, slow down," Professor Sigma interrupted, expression suddenly all business. "What are you talking about?" Adara swallowed and Gem looked too stricken to speak.

"Sir, we think we found Tash Riley."

"Where?" The Professor shot from his desk and was at their side in an instant, a deadly serious look on his face as he read their expressions.

"Th-third floor," Gem answered.

"Show me."

They walked briskly back the way they'd come, the Professor striding silently behind them. When they reached the corridor, Adara faltered. "There, look," she said, pointing to the blood on the floor by the tapestry. "We noticed it on the way to Defence Against the Dark Arts and so we looked behind the tapestry and..." she didn't need to finish her sentence because Professor Sigma was already stepping behind the tapestry. A second later, his head popped out again.

"Return to my office. All three of you. Do not talk to anyone. Do not make any detours." And he disappeared behind the tapestry again. Adara, Gem and Percy obeyed and headed back to the Professor's office without a word.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

News that Tash Riley had been found spread through the school like wildfire. The entire atmosphere of the place, which yesterday had been so full of joy this close to Christmas, had changed drastically to one of fear and suspicion. Of course, there were the letters from the families of students that began arriving two days later, demanding the students be sent home early and that a proper investigation be taking place.

It wasn't murder; that's all the staff were saying.

The next morning, a group of three aurors, including the brand new Head of Office, arrived on the scene, which caused quite a fuss in itself and a representative from the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures also arrived on the grounds. Gem saw them sitting next to each other at the staff table, conversing in whispers with Professor Hagrid and McGonagall at breakfast the day they arrived.

First period for Adara was Potions with the Ravenclaws. She met Sam on the stairs. He looked pleased to see her, but it didn't take him long to read into her face that she hadn't slept well the previous night. They sat together in class, as usual, but neither of them were really paying attention to the lesson, or the students surrounding them.

"Are you okay?" he asked as soon as the class was busy. Adara nodded, but it wasn't convincing. "What happened? You, Gem and Percy have been acting weird since yesterday."

"We were the ones that found her, Sam," Adara said in a low voice.

"Oh, God, Adara. I'm sorry."

"No, it's alright," she said. "I'm okay." Sam looked at her intensely for a long moment. He opened his mouth to say something and his eyes were pleading for permission to press further.

When Adara didn't respond, he asked, "Do you know what killed her?"

"I don't really know, Sam. There was lots of blood - she was a mess and she had a-a deep cut on her cheek and what looked like a bite mark on her neck."

"A bite mark?" Sam asked, immediately sitting up straighter. "Like a vampire?" Adara shook her head.

"I... I don't think so. From what I could see, it looked like what ever had bitten her had been venomous. It was two puncture wounds that had gone slightly green," she shuddered. Just then, there was a knock on the dungeon door and a timid looking Slytherin first year entered. He approached the teacher's desk and whispered something to her. She nodded at him and he left again. The Professor rose from her desk and walked over to where Adara and Sam were sitting.

"Whelan, grab your things and go to Professor McGonagall's office now." Adara did as she was told, already knowing the reason for her summoning. She whispered a goodbye to Sam and left the dungeon.

When she arrived at the gargoyle, the statue again asked, "Password?"

And again, she was forced to reply with, "I don't know the password."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"Yes."

"Name?"

"Adara Whelan." The gargoyle nodded and jumped aside, revealing an ascending spiral staircase, which Adara immediately stepped onto, gathering her thoughts as the stairs suddenly stopped moving, revealing a wooden door with a handsome brass knocker. Adara grasped the handle and knocked once, twice, three times.

"Enter," came the Headmistress's stern voice. Adara turned the handle and entered the room.

Professor McGonagall's office was a large, circular room with walls lined with the portraits of Hogwart's previous headmasters and headmistresses. The office was furnished with a very large and sturdy looking wooden desk and another throne-like chair sat behind it. Behind the desk, sitting on the wall was the large portrait of Albus Dumbledore, and he was one of the only paintings that wasn't snoring too loudly to be believable. In fact, his blue eyes were watching the scene unfold before him with an analytical calm that, if anything, unsettled Adara slightly. After taking in the room, Adara's eyes fell upon it's occupants. Professor McGonagall herself was standing in front of the desk, her emerald robes immaculate as always. Talking to her, rather animatedly, was the new Head of the Auror office and the representative for the Department For the Regulation and Control of Magic Creatures. Gem and Percy were also there, standing in a corner and watching in awe.

"Ah, Whelan, there you are. This is Harry Potter, Head of the Auror Office and Hermione Granger from the Department For the Regulation and Control of Magic Creatures."

"He-hello," Adara said timidly.

"Hi," greeted Granger. "You were the one that spotted it?"

"Huh?"

"The blood. You found where the body was?" Potter elaborated.

"Oh! Yes... I was," Adara replied.

"Just clearing that up. We just have a few questions for you. Starting with a recount of how you found her," Granger said kindly.

"Oh." Adara looked between all of their waiting faces and swallowed.

"Well, we were walking to our Defense Against the Dark Arts class from the Great Hall and I just happened to notice... Some blood on the floor. I went to check it out because it looked like it came from behind the tapestry and there was this passage there with blood on the floor."

"And? What happened next?" Potter asked. Adara glanced at Gem before continuing.

"We went to get Professor McGonagall but the stupid gargoyle wouldn't let us in so we went to Professor Sigma instead. He made us take him to where we found the tunnel and then sent us back to his office. And that's it."

Granger studied Adara for a moment.

"Harry, come here," she said, beckoning Potter a ways away from the students. A few seconds later Harry turned and addressed Professor McGonagall.

"Minerva, would you excuse us for a second?"

"Of course," McGonagall replied and left, closing the door behind her.

"What did you do that for?" Adara asked.

"Because," said Harry. "We think you're lying."

"What?" cried Percy.

"She's not!" Gem added. Harry actually chuckled.

"It's okay. We don't want you to get into trouble. We just need to know the truth. How did you find where Tash Riley was hidden?" Harry asked.

"Please don't tell McGonagall?" Adara begged.

"Promise," Harry vowed. Adara considered him and Hermione for a second before making her decision.

"We... I already knew about the tunnel," she admitted. Harry smiled.

"You?" He asked with eyebrows raised.

"We did. Gem accidentally fell into it during our first week. We decided to find out where it went," she finished, sending Gem an apologetic look.

"I thought so," he said. "Where does it lead to? It wasn't on... It wasn't previously known about by any one we'd talked to."

"There's a tiny shack deep in the forbidden forest. The tunnel comes out there," Adara informed them. She saw Gem shudder out of the corner of her eye. "We only went there once." Harry and Hermione nodded.

"Thank you," Hermione said. "You've been very kind."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The Christmas holidays arrived a week later and everyone was talking about what they were going to for the duration.

"I'm going back home," Adara informed her friends. "My family always has a huge Christmas celebration where all the extended family come to our house for breakfast."

"Dean and I are staying at Hogwarts," Sam said, although he didn't look too cut up about it.

"Aw," said Gem. "I'm going home."

"Yeah, me too," Percy contributed.

"Do you want to come over to my house for Christmas?" Adara offered "I'm sure that no one will mind."

Sam shook his head slightly "No it's fine, Dean and I want to spend some time together."

"Feeling the love man," Percy grinned, punching him on the shoulder lightly.

"Okay Sam, we're just an owl away," Adara grinned.

"Yeah!" Gem exclaimed pulling the taller boy into a hug. Bells sounded in the distance, heralding the beginning of fifth period. The group divided to go to their classes and said their goodbyes.

When Gem, Adara and Percy went to board the train back to Kings Cross, Sam went to see them off. The three of them grabbed a compartment and waved to Sam and Dean through the windows.

A few hours later, Gem had fallen asleep and was leaning on Adara, snoring lightly.

"So, Have you done your Christmas shopping yet?" Percy asked filling in a silence that had fallen.

"No, Not yet," Adara replied getting a book out of her bag, careful not to wake the sleeping girl. "I'm planning to do it when I get home, Mum's going to take me to Diagon Alley."

"That's where we got our stationery, right?" Percy inquired.

"I don't know where you got yours, but I assume so," Adara replied, an awkward silence soon following. "So," Adara began again finally. "Have you gotten all your shopping done yet?"

"Most of it," he answered. "But I've got to get non-magical presents as well."

"Muggle born?" Adara asked, sympathetically.

"I don't know what that is" He said "But I've been told I was a halfblood by mum. Dad left when I was born."

"That sucks. I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I'm over it" Percy chuckled "I never knew him, what's there to be sorry about?"

"Good point," Adara agreed. "I guess I wouldn't know. I have both my parents."

A lady pulled a cart full of goods up to the door. "Anything from the trolley, dears?"

"Blue jellybeans," Gem mumbled in her sleep.

"Bertie Bott's, then," Adara told the lady, digging in her pocket for the coinage. "And a cauldron cake for me."

"That all, dear?" The elderly women asked handing Adara's order to the girl.

"I'm fine," Percy said looking at Gem who was now leaning on him slightly as Adara had risen from her seat.

"Well then, Merry Christmas."

"You too," Adara replied politely sliding the door to their compartment shut. "Percy, you look slightly uncomfortable."

"She _is _leaning on me," he retorted.

"You get used to it," Adara snickered. Percy frowned.

"No, thank you," he grumbled, shoving Gem sideways so she was leaning on Adara again. Adara just smiled and opened the box of every flavour beans. "Oh!" Percy grinned, leaning across Gem and picking one of the blueberry flavoured beans from the box.

"Oi!" Adara snapped, playfully slapping his hand away. "Rude."

"What's going on?" Gem muttered rubbing her eyes and yawning "Are we at the station yet?"

"Not even close," Adara answered, throwing a purple jelly bean into her mouth "Mmm ,Sugared Violet"

"Oh! are those Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans?" Gem grinned, fully awake "Are there any blue ones left?"

"I wish" Adara groaned. "But Perseus here stole them all."

At the mention of his full name, Percy's head whipped towards Adara exclaiming "Hey!"

The rest of the ride to Kings Cross was uneventful apart from the occasional argument about blue jellybeans. As they exited the train Adara spotted her mother and waved to her excitedly running over to her. Gem and Percy followed their friend quickly.

"Adara slow down" Gem cried

"Wait up" Percy added

"Are these your friends, Adara, love?" Adara's mum asked. Adara nodded.

"Mum, this is Gem and Percy. They're in Gryffindor. Sam is staying at Hogwarts for Christmas."

"Well, nice to meet you all. Come on, dear. Your father and Altair are in the car."

Adara waved goodbye to her friends and left with her mother, leaving Gem and Percy to look through the crowds to find their parents.

"Percy!" A woman's voice called from behind them. They turned to see a middle aged lady with features similar to Percy making her way towards the pair.

"Hi Mum, " Percy grinned hugging her tightly " This is Gem, she's one of my friends

"Hello Miss Jackson" She greeted

"Please, call me Sally" The women's eyes twinkled, changing from brown, to blue, to green. " I hope your keeping him out of trouble"

Gem almost burst out laughing "Something like that"

Sally chuckled "Say your goodbye's Percy, We need to get home to your father"

"That pig is not my dad" Percy muttered under his breath, then smiled at Gem "Have a good Christmas".

"You too Percy" Gem pulled him in for a hug. "Goodbye Sally, pleasure to meet you"

Gem stood and watched as they walked off then turned to look for her own parents, spying a slightly balding head she ran towards her father "Daddy!"

Her father turned and grinned "Hey Princess"

"I'm not six anymore dad" Gem grumbled then launched herself into him, causing him to stumble back then chuckle slightly.

"Where are those friends you told me about" Mr McKenzie ask his daughter

"Adara and Percy have gone already, And Sam's staying at Hogwarts over the holidays."

"Oh, okay then. Lets get going." Gem nodded to him in response.

"Is Mum here?" Gem asked, her dad shot her a look in response "Right, that was a silly question"

Mrs McKenzie did her best to ignore Gems existence, only coming into contact when there were chores to do, or if it was extremely important.

"Cheer up, its almost Christmas and I have a surprise for you when you get home."

Gem smiled as they walked towards her fathers car.

Two weeks without Hogwarts, she could do that.

On Christmas morning Gem woke to a scratching on her window. Gem rubbed her eyes and let the young owl inside. Strix had been Gems surprise. When her father had walked into her room with the barred owl on his shoulder Gem was ecstatic. They had always talked about getting her her own owl. So she didn't always have to use Ridley, the families snowy owl.

Strix landed on Gem's bedpost dropping a parcel. She fluffed her white and black feathers and Gem approached to untie the letters from her legs.

"Good girl" Gem cooed stroking her feathers. She picked up the parcel and moved it to the others. This one was from Sam , and now she could finally open them all. She reached for Adaras first, tearing open the small parcel.

Inside it was a little black box with a tag. Gem opened the box to see a small piece of jewelry. It had a black cord that was intricately braided to for the bracelet the a smooth stone with a carving was attached. It almost resembled a upside down 'U' except one side was longer than the other

_Thought you might like it. Uruz is the rune of strength, maybe it will help you with being more confident._

_~Adara _

Gem laughed and attached the bracelet to her wrist. The next one was from Percy, this box was larger than Adaras but smaller than Sam's. Gem read the letter first this time.

_Merry Christmas Gem_

_I owe you some of these don't, it's alright I haven't opened it. But enjoy the blue ones. _

_See you soon_

_~Percy_

The brunette tore open the wrapping paper and let out a giggle. Inside was a box of Bertie Botts every flavour beans. She opened the box and grabbed the first blue one she could find. Plopping it in her mouth she grimaced.

"Sardine" she groaned "definitely not blueberry"

She put the box of sweets on her bedside table. And tore into the wrapping of Sam's gift. Peering into the box she found a ball of purple fluff. Gem looked at it curiously.

"What am I supposed to do with a ball of fluff," she wondered and picked it up, almost dropping it again when a high pitched whistle came from it and big round eyes appeared "Oh my gosh, you're adorable."

Gem peered into the bottom of the box when a small note lay.

_Couldn't get you a puppy so I hope you'll settle for a pygmy puff instead._

_~Sam W._

Gem giggled and hugged the lilac creature to her cheek. "What am I going to call you, huh?" she cooed. The fluffball whistled again. Gem laughed and settled the pygmy puff onto her shoulder. "Well, now at least Strix will have a friend," she mused happily.

Christmas morning was something of a routine for the Whelans. Adara had already been up for an hour and opened her christmas stocking with her family when Circe tapped on her bedroom window. The barn owl wasn't the only one there, either. A barred owl Adara had never seen before and an eagle owl Adara recognised as one of the Hogwarts owls were perched on the window sill beside Circe. Adara grinned and opened the window, letting in the group.

"Hey chick," she tells Circe fondly, scratching the top of the owl's head with one hand, and removing the parcel tied to her leg with the other, somewhat awkwardly. The parcel was from Percy with a small note attached to the front. It read,

_Merry Christmas, Adara!_

_Enjoy,_

_Percy_

Inside was a large box of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans, which Adara didn't hesitate to open and she picked up a sunshine yellow one and smiled. Cream-cheese icing. Yum. Next, she removed the parcel the Barred owl was carrying. She grinned again when she saw it was from Gem.

_Hey, Adara!_

_Meet Strix, my new owl! Dad gave her to me when I got home. Anyway, I saw this at Flourish and Blotts and thought you might find it interesting._

_Happy Christmas,_

_Gem_

This parcel was larger and Adara's breathing actually quickened in excitement. She loved books and every new one was thrilling. The book Gem had gotten her was heavy and bound in leather. On the front was embossed, _Myths, Monsters and Other Magical Beasts of Legend_.

Biting her lip thoughtfully, she opened the book and rifled through its pages. She caught glimpses of headings like _Boggarts, Demons, Grindylows, Werewolves_ and _Wendigos_, along with pictures of hippogriffs, minotaurs and manticores. Shutting the book, she placed it reverently on the bed and turned to the final owl. She knew this one was from Sam as he was the only friend she knew who was staying at Hogwarts over the Christmas break. His box was smallish and rectangular and when Adara ripped off the wrapping paper, she saw the large W of the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"Oh, Sam, really?" Adara muttered. "Extendable Ears. How cool!"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next week, the Christmas break ended and Gem, Adara and Percy met up at Kings Cross Station. Upon sighting her friends, Gem let out a cry and tackled Adara and Percy, momentarily forgetting about her luggage and father watching in amusement.

"Hey," Adara laughed. "Its only been two weeks."

"So?" Gem asked, grabbing her trunk and following the other two onto the train. They found a compartment and settled, Adara watching the bustling platform outside absently. Gem and Percy began talking about what they got for Christmas.

"Adara sent me two presents," Percy was saying, like he didn't know whether to be irritated or amused.

"What did she get you?"

"She made me a study planner. Woke up Christmas morning with that owl of hers tapping on the window with a roll of parchment tied to her leg, opened it and there was this study planner. Then on boxing day she sent me something else."

"Oh, really?" Gem asked "What was that?"

"A Box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans"

"It was a brilliant joke," Adara commented, breaking her gaze. "And you'd better use that study planner."

Gem laughed as the train began to move. They spent the journey to Hogwarts talking about their Christmas holidays and what presents they had gotten from others.

Sam and Dean had come to meet the trio at the station. As soon as she saw them, Gem ran and hugged the younger boy.

"Hi Sam," she grinned.

"How was your Christmas?" Adara asked, then added with a sly smirk, "Thanks for your gift by the way. They will be put to good use."

"It was okay," Sam laughed. "Bit boring without you guys."

"C'mon Sammy," Dean teased. "I'm not boring."

Classes started the next day and the four friends had a perfectly normal week - if any week at Hogwarts could be considered 'normal'.

On the second tuesday night, Gem couldn't sleep so she had stayed up in the common room reading for a while before sighing and heading to bed. She stared at the canopy of her four poster for what felt like an hour before she heard it.

Downstairs came a terrified scream.

Gem leaped out of bed before her dorm mates had even woken up and was downstairs before any of her fellow Gryffindors. The Fat Lady was slightly ajar and now Gem understood it was the painting that the scream had come from. She jumped through the portrait hole and scanned the painting for the woman.

"What is it?" she demanded when she spotted the Fat Lady ducking under the window of the tower she was usually stationed in front of.

"B-B-Behind you!" the Fat Lady shrieked, ducking out of sight.

Gem heard a growl from, behind her and spun around to see a terrifying shadow thrown against the stone walls by flickering candle light. The creature it belonged to was huge and wasn't something she recognised. Before she could register what she was seeing properly, the creature lunged, catching her arm with it's massive claws. Gem screamed and fell to the ground, clutching her arm in pain. The creature attacked again, this time sinking one of it's sets of fangs in her shoulder with a hiss. One of it's heads raised itself for another attack and Gem whimpered, on the verge of losing consciousness, but managed to scramble groggily to her feet. Before the monster could attack a third time, a voice cried, "PROTEGO!" and the monster was thrown back into the wall by a burst of white light.

"Mckenzie?" A boy's voice asked from very far away. Gem had the vague sensation of falling backwards and she hit something soft, but solid. "Gem!" Dean cried again, but by that time, she was gone.

The first thing she was aware of was the soft linen she was lying on. Still waking up, she tried to stretch and cried out in pain. The sound caused a pressure on her hand and she opened her eyes.

She was in the hospital wing. It was late afternoon and there was a small crowd of people around her: Adara, Percy, Sam and Dean. The pressure on her hand came from Adara, but when she saw her friend was awake, the Hufflepuff smiled and stood back.

"You gave us quite a scare, kid," came Dean's voice. He was leaning against the foot of the bed opposite Gem's, arms crossed and a cut on his cheek.

"What happened?" Gem asked, the details of why she was in the hospital wing still a little hazy.

"You were attacked," Adara informed her. "I think its the same thing that killed the Riley girl, we just don't know what it is. Dean gave us a sort-of-description, but..."

"Hey! I only saw it for two seconds, give me a break."

"But we still don't really know what it is," Adara finished.

"It... It bit me," Gem remembered.

"Yeah," Adara confirmed. "Madame Jones said the bite was venomous and she couldn't find a proper antidote until we find out what bit you but she's good. She's got it under control."

"When can I get out of here?" Gem asked.

"Not until you're cured," Sam told her.

"Awesome," Gem grumbled, throwing her head back on the pillows and then wincing.

"How are you feeling?" Percy asked then.

"Like I got attacked by a monster," Gem replied grumpily.

"Can you see if we can find out what got you?" Adara asked, pulling a book out of her bag. It was her Christmas present from Gem; _Myths, Monsters and Other Magical Beasts of Legend._ Gem nodded and Adara sat down beside her, opening the book. "Lets see if its in here. Do you recognise any of these?"

Gem flicked through the pages, trying to remember what she saw. "It had... Three heads," she told her friend and Adara nodded, flicking through the book.

"Okay... Is it this it?" she asked, showing Gem a picture of a massive three-headed dog. Gem shook her head.

"No dog heads." Adara nodded again and flicked to a new page.

"This one?" she asked, showing Gem a picture of a creature with the heads of a human, a toad and a cat. Again, Gem shook her head.

"No, one of them was a snake I'm pretty sure," Gem remembered. "Something with fangs." Adara chose a different page.

"Like that?" Gem shook her head yet again. "No. They were all different. Sorry, i'm not much use am I?"

"It's not your fault you weren't attacked by something we've found yet. Why don't you look through it and tell me if you see it?" Gem nodded and took the book from Adara who stood and went to talk to the others.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked Percy, quiet enough that Gem wouldn't hear. Percy looked up from the ground.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he gave a soft smile. "I was just worried about Gem is all."

"Okay," Adara replied, dropping it.

"What about you?" Sam asked. "She's your best friend. "

"I know, but she's going to be fine," Adara shrugged. "We just need to find out what attacked her and the Slytherin girl." she glanced at Gem and then back to the group. "Before it hurts someone else."


End file.
